The day after New Year’s

It’s official: my winter break has come and almost gone. As always, it went by way too fast and I wish it was just a little bit longer. On the other hand though, it is always nice to be back into a routine. (Except for the packing breakfast and lunch every night for the next day- I hate that routine.)

Last night I cooked dinner for Greg’s birthday. I asked him what he wanted me to cook for dinner and he gave me the same answer that he does every year: Filet Mignon. On Friday, I went to Hedgeapple Farm to buy some grass-fed beef and picked up these two filets:

I got an 8.5 oz filet for Greg, and mine was just over 4 oz. Greg could probably eat twice that amount, but 4 oz. is more than enough for me. Personally, I’d rather fill up on veggies and starches than meat any day.

I looked up some different recipes on the Food Network’s site for Filet Mignon, and loosely based mine on one by Tyler Florence. There really wasn’t much to it: salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, mushrooms and olive oil. I cooked up a few sides and dinner was ready in a snap.

Greg opted for a roasted yukon gold potato (split into quarters and seasoned with rosemary+salt+pepper) and I had some delicata squash. And we both had green beans- very slightly steamed, so that they were still crunchy.

I was very happy with my beef-cooking skills when I cut into my filet:

Absolutely perfect. And Greg LOVED it, which was most important, of course.

Onlookers nearby were jealous.

**

Today I woke up and headed to the gym to try out Bodystep. I’m horribly uncoordinated when it comes to step class, but was curious to try this out since it’s by Les Mills (just like Bodypump). My friend Jill was teaching the class, and I figured that since I had the day off, it was a good time to give it a shot. It was hard- and I felt like an idiot- but I kept moving and trying my best to learn the steps and keep up. The most important thing is that you keep your heart rate up, right? I don’t know about you, but I find step aerobics SO challenging- you have to watch the instructor and your feet at the same time and try not to fall off the step- it’s so much easier to ride a spin bike! But, like all challenging workouts, this was humbling- and that’s always a good thing to me.

After class, I came home and got ready to head out to Gaithersburg to hit up Trader Joes and Whole Foods (with a stop at Target on the way). I grabbed my favorite cooler and ice packs, as per usual, to keep my foods from TJ’s cold while were finished shopping at Whole Foods.

Poor puppies wanted to come, too.

When we got on the highway, we were behind this van- check out the license plate.

No comment.

As I navigated through Trader Joes, a sign that said “NEW PRODUCT” caught my eye in the nut butter section. Could it be? Could my Trader Joe’s finally have Cookie Butter?!?!

Nope. It was just a new kind of peanut butter.

Eh, it’s probably better that they didn’t carry it. The last thing I need in my life is another kind of nut butter to want to sit on the couch and eat straight from the jar. 🙂

I also learned that the new bag tax in Montgomery County started yesterday. They charge 5 cents per bag- and being a faithful reusable bag user, I think this is a good thing! I’m sure there are many people that will complain though.

After TJ’s, we drove down the street to Whole Foods. We started with a trip to the salad and hot foods bar to get lunch first.

I never EVER get tired of a Whole Foods salad- best lunch around if you ask me!

My salad (same thing as always, veggies, various proteins and a roasted plantain!)

And Greg went with all hot foods:

I always aim to keep my meal under $10, which is not an easy feat. One of us did, but I’m not sure who.

I know that $7.99/lb sounds crazy for salad bar, but think about it this way: if you went out to a restaurant to eat, wouldn’t you spend more than that? I think it’s worth every penny.

After fueling up, we did some grocery shopping. Another near-the-end-the-trip-shot of my cart:

In this cart was MORE frozen fruit (we make a whole lotta smoothies), chicken sausages from the meat counter (SO GOOD), Ezekiel wraps, skyr, French vanilla stevia, canned pumpkin, tofu (again, for smoothies), cereal for Greg, and a big head of red cabbage (thanks for putting this thought into my head, Jenny!). I also got a few packets of Vega protein powder.

Millions of dollars later, we left Whole Foods and headed home to the mutts. Now I’ve got 3 hours left to make a playlist for tomorrow morning’s spin class, pack my gym bag, get everything ready for work tomorrow, pack breakfast and lunch, make dinner and fold laundry before the Bachelor comes on at 8:00. I don’t know about you, but I am a BIG FAN of Ben. I didn’t want Ashley to pick him on the Bachelorette because I could not STAND her. I hope that he finds a less-annoying woman to suit him.

Do you watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette?

Did you do anything fun today?

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9 Comments on “The day after New Year’s”

Cookie butter sounds like a dangerous thing! I can have regular peanut butter in the house and eat it like a normal person, but when it comes to flavored pb typed stuff, I can eat the jar in like 2 days!

Yeah, I keep seeing it on everyone’s blogs, and apparently it’s like Biscoff (which my Wegmans has) but I just can’t bring myself to buy it. Plus, I still have 5 or 6 open jars of nut butter in my fridge (plus some chocolate hazelnut butter that I made in my Vitamix!)

I’m glad you posted the link for Hedgeapple Farm! I know of a few farms in the Frederick County area to get good quality local meats, but it never hurts to add another one to the list! I headed into Downtown Frederick to Cafe Nola for lunch. If you’ve never been, I would highly recommend it (especially for brunch on Sundays). Otherwise it was a pretty laid back day 🙂 Wish we had a whole foods here, their salad bar rocks!

I’ve been to Nola several times (a friend of mine from high school owns it). They do have really good food- but the service is horrible. I know they have the whole “laid-back” vibe, but there is no excuse why your lunch should take 45 minutes to cook. I once waited for an hour for my food during brunch!
I usually just go to the Common Market and hit their salad bar or get a made to order sandwich. 🙂

I’ve gotten the skinny fries before- and they’re good- but I never really snack on chips or things like that. They don’t fill me up at all, and I’d rather have something more substantial I guess. My husband on the other hand can easily eat a bag of chips, and often does, sitting right next to me on the couch. Grr.

No comment on that license plate either. Except it would be awesome if it were followed by Vee for WVU!

Agree 100% on the WF salad bar, it’s one thing that I will splurge on. The quality is there and they have such a great selection plus hello, it’s good for you!! I went there last night after seeing a movie and I guess they were closing early bc of it being new years day. They already broke down the salad bar, it was a very depressing moment.

Hi, I'm Lauren: 32 and living in the DC Metro area. I thrive on
eating organic, wholesome food and sharing food-related tips. I love
being a Spinning and Bodypump instructor, and have an equal passion for yoga. I strive to find the balance between eating, exercising & recovery each day. These are my daily thoughts- hope you enjoy them!

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